One of the reasons that our society has been willing to allow
things that were strongly condemned a generation or so ago is
that our world-view as a society has changed. We tend to get
caught up in the mechanics of moral choices and in what is right
and what is wrong without understanding what the root of an issue
is. We see this in the public reaction to presidential scandals,
but the approach of our society as a whole has shifted
dramatically in recent years. It is this same shift that has
allowed abortion and is in the process of sanctioning euthanasia.

Modern society has accepted the notion that the human body is
merely a vehicle for getting what you want. It is not uncommon to
hear television commentators make the comparison between our
bodies and a car. You use a car to get you where you want to go
and you use your body in the same way.

Adultery, abortion, and euthanasia all come from a mentality
that splits the person from the body. The body is not really
"me" but rather a possession of mine. That means it is
something I can dispose of or deploy as I choose. I can use it
for pleasure, emotional satisfaction, or to bring things to one I
find fulfilling. Abortions, in this view, is merely a body-- not
a full person. Euthanasia is simply the disposing of a worn out
body--not the destruction of a rational being. The sexual union
of two physical bodies does not mean a oneness of any kind in
this view--just two beings using their bodies for pleasure. With
this view, there is no sexual act of any kind that could be
considered wrong. Not only does this view approve all homosexual
and bisexual acts, but it also allows all kinds of fetal
experiments.

Natural History magazine (May, 1998, page 12) gave a concise
summary of this view in describing life's origin and death.
Conception is viewed as: "The joining of a human egg and
sperm defines a new and unique human genotype. It does not
produce 'anything' of moral importance implied by the term
'human'. " Death is viewed as: "...the last remains are
just that, material that happened, at the time of death, to
provide the medium of expression for a human life."

The Bible recognizes the "dust to dust" nature of
our physical bodies, but also teaches that each individual is a
unity made up of body, soul, and spirit. From a Biblical
standpoint, sexual unity is the total unity of two whole person's
becoming one. The body is described over and over in the Bible as
the "Temple of God" (
1 Corinthians 3:16-17,
1 Corinthians 6:19-20). When Paul argued against adultery he said:

Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ?
Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members
of a harlot? God forbid. What! know ye not that he which is
joined to a harlot is one body? For two, saith he, shall be
one flesh (
1 Corinthians 6:15-17).

You cannot sever the body from self. When you attempt to do
so, you experience the disintegration of your wholeness. This is
why God speaks so strongly against sex outside of marriage.
Aborting a baby or killing a person whose body is judged to be
disfunctional are also the results of viewing body and self as
separate entities. Like adultery, these views reflect a loss of
the sacredness of human life. If a human embryo is just a body,
it can be discarded at any time. Even the promoters of abortion
do not agree on what point in fetal development one should refuse
to perform an abortion. In China, abortions are performed at
points well after birth and proposals have been made in many
countries to follow that lead. The Biblical view of man is
unique. It values all human life and urges that all humans be
treated with dignity and respect. It is not only supported by a
wealth of evidence, but it is also vital to any consistent view
of how to deal with ones own worth. "Consider the lilies how
they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you,
that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
If then God so clothes the grass, which is today in the field,
and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe
you, O ye of little faith?" (
Luke 12:27-28).